Collapsible loop-spring actuated fish cradle device

ABSTRACT

A design for improvements to the prior art of conventional A-frame fish capture devices which incorporates one or more flexible loop spring mechanism(s) and a multi-functional crossbeam splay limiting and hand grip apparatus, attached to an A-frame structure which enables collapsing the device into a nearly flat condition for storage and when deployed the loop-spring mechanism instantly splays out the crossbeams and pushes the mouth of the net into a deep trough enabling the angler single handed instant deployment and attitude control of the net to enable prompt landing which minimizes stress by rapidly cradling the fish during landing.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to improving upon the prior art of an A-frame fish net to facilitate an angler's ability to more quickly and retrieve a net device from flat storage and quickly deploy a uniquely functioning net to cradle a fish that has been caught by hook and line facilitating landing of the fish from the water.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The devices used to land fish from the water being caught with a hook and line are effective in capturing the fish but the fish usually die as a result of the process. In recent years there has been a focus from sportsmen and environmentalists alike on promoting the use of devices that minimize stress to fish when catching and releasing fish to maintain the species and the sport. Recent studies indicate that due to the current state of the design for these devices a large percent of the fish that are caught and released die within twenty-four hours because of delays in deploying from storage, landing, unhooking and releasing the fish. The prior art is awkward to store and transport and to quickly deploy from collapsed storage and does not offer rapidly deployed spring loaded deep trough at the mouth of the net for easy capture and the single handed use of the net enabling the angler to hold and articulate the net in one hand and the fishing pole in the other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to functionally, structurally and practically improve upon prior art A-frame fish nets such as for example the substantially A-shaped scooping surf net shown in Butler U.S. Pat. No. 2,780,020, the Dip for Surf Fishing shown in Brown U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,392, the Leaf Skimmer for Pools shown in patent to Sermons 1978 and the Fish Landing Device shown in Thomas U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,074 where none of the prior art inventions incorporates a spring mechanism that both instantly facilitates the deployment of an A-frame net from flat storage to a splayed out configuration and where the mouth of the net is formed into a deep trough and where none of the prior art incorporates an apparatus where the splay of the A-frames crossbeams are limited and controlled by straps that attached to a centrally positioned hand grip that aligns with the crossbeams such that the angler can dip or raise the attitude of the net with one hand by the angler simply articulating the wrist downward or upward respectively.

The present invention incorporates new and useful improvements to the prior art of A-frame fishing net design. In particular the invention improves on the prior art of the A-frame structure type of fish net by adding one or more mechanisms described as flexible loop-spring(s) and the invention incorporates an A-frame crossbeam splay limiter apparatus to quickly retrieve the fish is a stress reduced manner.

More specifically the invention incorporates the use of one or more loop-spring mechanisms that not available in the prior art and a crossbeam splay limiting apparatus with straps and hand grip that is not available in the prior art which enable a single angler to quickly deploy the net from nearly flat storage to then splay out the crossbeams and force the mouth of the net into a deep trough at the open end of the A-frame and then again enabling quickly reforming back to a nearly flat profile for flat storage or transport. One end of each strap is attached to a crossbeam and at the other end of the strap is attached a to a centrally located single hand grip which is axially aligned with the crossbeams from which an angler can, with one hand, articulate a single wrist upward or downward and as result will raise or dip the attitude of the net respectively during the landing process by surrounding the fish and enabling the gentle support of the fish when being lifted from the water.

The individual features of the improvements described herein create advancement to the current state of the design.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an A-frame net in being used by an angler with the loop-spring splaying out the crossbeams and also pushing the net to form a deep trough at the mouth of the net with straps attached to a hand grip at one end and to the crossbeams at the other end so that the hand grip is aligned axially with the crossbeams and held in one hand by the angler controlling the attitude of the net and the fishing pole being held by the angler's other hand while a fish is being scooped into the net.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged side view of the same device in the deployed/splayed position,

FIG. 3 is a view looking up at the device from underneath in the deployed/splayed position,

FIG. 4 is frontal view for the device in the deployed/splayed position,

FIG. 5 is side view of the device in the stored/unsplayed position,

FIG. 6 is a frontal view of the device illustrating the rotated position of the loop-spring when in the stored/unsplayed position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The improvement to prior art invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures in which the reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. The embodiment of the invention consists of FIG. 1 which illustrates an A-frame net being deployed single handedly by an angler controlling the attitude of the net and showing a fish entering the net and consisting of crossbeams 101 with a flexible connection 102 at one end with net a material 103 attached to the A-frame crossbeams 101 a latch 104 is disengaged from opposite crossbeam due to this being an illustration of the deployed/splayed position with an improvement of the prior art by the inclusion of a splay limiting apparatus consisting of straps 106 attached to the crossbeams 101 at one end of the straps 106 and to the hand grip 107 attached to the other end of the straps which together control both the splay of the crossbeam and the shape of the loop-springs and as a result the shape of the mouth of the net into a deep trough and enabling the angler to control the attitude of the net from the hand grip. FIG. 2 shows an enlarged side view of the same device in the deployed/splayed position with all of the features noted above in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 shows a view looking up at the device from underneath of the same device in the deployed/splayed position with all of the features noted above in FIG. 1 installed with the net material removed to illustrate the loop-spring fastened from one crossbeam to the opposing crossbeam at different axial locations on each crossbeam and illustrates how the loop-spring is rotated away from the axial direction of the crossbeams when deployed. FIG. 4 is front view for the device in the deployed/splayed position with features noted above in FIG. 1 installed except the net material 103 is removed to illustrate in a front view where the loop-spring is installed. FIG. 5 is view of the device in the stored position with all of the features noted above in FIG. 1 installed with the latch 104 engaged holding the spring loaded crossbeams 101 together and the net 103 being forced by the compressed and the loop-spring 105 rotated into a nearly flat position for storage. FIG. 6 is view looked at the mouth of the device in the stored/unsplayed position illustrating the rotated position of the loop-spring to align with the crossbeams with all of the features noted above in FIG. 1 installed with the latch 104 engaged holding the spring loaded crossbeams 101 together and the net 103 being forced by the compressed and the loop-spring 105 into a nearly flat position for storage. 

1. (canceled)
 2. is an improvement to the prior art of A-frame fish nets by providing an invention that provides improved storage capabilities and reduced stress to fish during landing by providing the spring loaded rapid deployment of a splayed out deep trough net by adding a flexible rod serving as a loop-spring which is attached axially along the A-frame crossbeams to control the shape of the net material in which the loop-spring is fastened from one A-frame crossbeam to the opposing crossbeam at different axial locations on each crossbeam and which when the crossbeams are collapsed in the stored/unsplayed position where the cross beams are side-by-side and not splayed will compress the loop-spring which will naturally twist into nearly a flat plane aligning with the crossbeams to which the net material will then conform and when the net is deployed the loop-spring will serve to rapidly splay out the crossbeams and the loop-spring will then rotate away from the axial direction of the crossbeams and push the net out to form a deep trough to cradle the fish during landing, a) a part of claim 2 is an improvement to the prior art of A-frame fish nets by incorporating a plurality of flexible rods serving as a loop springs fastened at locations axially along the crossbeams to control the net shape and where the number of loop-springs will be determined based upon the length and net depth of the particular A-frame device as required to rapidly splay out the crossbeams and to push the net out to form a deep trough to cradle the fish during landing.
 3. an improvement to the prior art of A-frame fish nets resulting in the ability to grasp and articulate the attitude of net with one hand and reduce stress to fish by an improved spring loaded rapid deployment by enabling control of the A-frame fish net by the use of claim 1 flexible rod(s) serving as a loop-spring(s) by providing an invention of a multi-functional strap and hand grip apparatus where the straps are of a precise length and fastened to the A-frame crossbeams at one end of the straps and then to a hand grip at the other end of the straps of which the handgrip is directionally aligned with and between crossbeams and which apparatus is installed at the axial center of the crossbeams which when the device is in the deployed/splayed out position the apparatus serves as a crossbeam splay limiter to precisely control the distance the crossbeams are allowed to splay out and as a result precisely determine the shape of loop spring(s) and as a result precisely determine the shape of the net being pushed into by the loop spring(s) to a precisely shaped deep trough shape and which also serves as a centrally located single hand grip from which an angler can articulate the attitude of the net by a single wrist action upward or downward and as result will raise or dip the attitude of the net respectively during the landing process.
 4. Claim 2 and claim 3 are scalable 